


What Matters

by SkylerSkyhigh, xXUndertale_loverXx



Series: Nightmare's Gang [7]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst/Comfort, Crying Horror, Cuddles, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Past Depression, M/M, Nightmare Cares, Sad Dust, Sad Horror, Self Loathing, implied abandonment, implied self harm, past self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 06:59:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13335888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylerSkyhigh/pseuds/SkylerSkyhigh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXUndertale_loverXx/pseuds/xXUndertale_loverXx
Summary: Nightmare is a busy skeleton. Between the balance and keeping his boys safe he has his hands full. But he can't do his work and comfort his boys at the same time. Something has to take a back seat. His boys are more important.





	What Matters

**Author's Note:**

> AmyTheFangirlsFangirl (did I get that right?), gave me the idea. So here's some fluff and angst!

The AUs are in a peaceful state, except those currently in genocide runs. Everyone is busy in their own way. Inky is checking the AUs for any disturbance. Dream is watching over the residents and keeping positive emotions high. Error sat in the anti-void knitting something while watching UnderNovela- Inky has yet to make a new au or copy so he has time to wind down.

In Nightmare's hideout, the owner sat in his room on his desk looking through some paperwork. His room was bare with only a few personal items. A picture frame on his desk is one of them.

Nightmare picks up a pen and writes down something onto a document, his gaze totally focused on his work. Nowadays he rarely gets a chance to finish his work in peace. Sometimes it's because of Inky and his brother. Others times- most of the time- he's busy keeping his boys out of trouble. He understands the need to cause chaos. He does, he's the guardian of negative emotions- even more so after his transformation. But stars sake why does his gang always cause trouble that needs **his** attention? Killer is at least the voice of reason in the group despite being a troublemaker himself. If Killer or Horror weren't around most of the time then stars know how much more trouble the gang can get into. The amount of times he has to save their bony asses worry him to no end. 

Nightmare slowed down his writing as his thoughts drifted off. He was pretty protective over his group nowadays hasn't he? It's not normal for him. At least not anymore. He remembers a time- before he took in his little group- where he hadn't given a damn. A time where he had caused chaos whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted. A time where he had manipulated monsters dreams into nightmares and tortured others for fun. A time where he had been a demented and insane Dark Sans- the evil brother of Dream- as people keep telling him.

Now? He's acting more and more as a protector for his group. He constantly worries for his gang one way or another. He makes sure they're alright mentally and physically and comes in at the nick of time to save them from certain harm- sometimes just to save them from being idiots. He always stays beside any of them when they need him and he's even found himself smiling when he was reminded of the good times.

Did taking in the others change him that much?

He shook his skull to shake the thoughts away. No, it couldn't be. Sure he has changed a bit to fit the others in his life but he's still the same ruthless and cold skeleton monsters check under their beds for. Having his gang of Dark Sanses hadn't changed him. With that thought, Nightmare went back to work.

However he didn't get much done before a hesitant knock sounded at his bedroom door. He sighed internally, already bracing himself for any news regarding his boys being in trouble. Again.

"What?" he called and the door opened a bit. Killer poked his skull inside, staring at Nightmare with uncertainty and nervousness. He just stood there silently switching from staring at Nightmare to staring at the wall. 

"What is it Killer?" he said after a moment of nothing happening without turning away from his work.

Killer played with his hands and bit his lower lip. "Uh...you got a minute boss?" he asked softly which made Nightmare tense up unconsciously.

"I'm busy. What do you want?" he snapped but it lacked the usual bite the tone should be supplied with.

Killer gulped and slipped inside the room. He didn't dare approach Nightmare even though he knew Nightmare would never hurt him. This caused suspicion in the dark skeleton.

"Well?" he asked, turning his head towards the tense and silent skeleton.

"Um. Nothing...important per se." Killer started nervously but then he went silent again and tensed up.

"And? What is it you want Killer?" Nightmare's one eye bore into the other making him shiver.

"I.. uh.. C-can I just...stay with you for a bit? Please?" Killer asked while looking down at his feet, his hands wringing together in a nervous habit.

Nightmare raised a brow at one of his boys behavior. Killer is asking permission to stay with him here? What has gotten into him? Nightmare can sense the negative emotions from the other.

Nervousness, apprehension, fear, anxiety, insecurity.

Nightmare sighed and turned back to his work. "Fine. Come here." he relented.

Killer was surprised but he slowly made his way to Nightmare's desk. Instead of sitting down, he just stood there, staring at him, hesitant to do anything else than stand next to him. Nightmare sighed internally at the action.

"Sit." he ordered and Killer followed, sitting down onto the floor cross legged. Nightmare noticed how his emotions began to stabilise when he was near Nightmare. It was odd to the midnight skeleton. Most would run away or shiver in fear of him because of his aura. But his gang, the Dark Sanses, seem to find comfort in the dark aura surrounding him. He never knew why nor did he ever ask. It didn't matter anyway. What matters is that his boys trust him and that's that.

As Nightmare focused his attention on his work, a tendril came out of his back and began stroking Killer's skull softly. At first the skeleton tensed up in surprise at the touch before relaxing into it with a soft, almost inaudible, sigh. Nightmare's lips curled upwards slightly in a small smile. 

Nightmare continued his work, writing down notes and calculations while the tendril kept stroking Killer's skull softly. It was a comfortable silence which was then broken by another hesitant knock. Nightmare turned to the door the same time as Killer, the tendril stopping it's movements much to Killer's disappointment but he didn't say anything about it.

"Yes?" he called and this time Horror peeked his head in. He looked at Nightmare before his eye landed on Killer on the floor.

"D-did I come at a bad time?" he asked looking between his boss and partner in crime.

Nightmare shook his head. "Not really. What did you need?"

Horror stuttered. "I, um.. nothing. Nevermind. You're probably busy, it's nothing."

"Horror." Nightmare said sternly. He could feel the negative emotions coming from the bloody skeleton. They were almost the same as Killer's.

Nervousness, apprehension, hesitation, fear, anxiety, insecurity.

Horror flinched at the tone Nightmare spoke his name with. He looked down on the floor. "It's nothing. I just-. C-can I... Can I sit with you? N-nothing else I swear!"

Nightmare sighed inwardly as he looked the other skeleton over. He then nodded and returned to his work. He sensed Horror moving to him from the door and sat on the floor on the other side of him, opposite of Killer. Nightmare conjured up another tentacles and began stroking Horror's skull too along with Killer's. Unlike Killer, Nightmare could feel faint vibrations coming from the bloodied skeleton.

Despite not being able to feel positive emotions well, he could feel the contentment in both his boys. He went back to his work, his focus now split between his work and comforting his two boys. After a while it started to get easier doing two different things that needed his focus at the same time.

Yet again, the peace didn't last long. This time whoever it was didn't wait for his answer and opened the door wider than the previous two did. Two skulls poked in, the rest of his gang, Dust and Cross.

They looked like they wanted to say something before the spotted both Killer and Horror on the floor next to Nightmare.

"Um...are we interrupting anything?" Cross asked hesitantly, looking between the two skeletons on the floor and the one sitting at the desk.

"No." Nightmare sighed and looked at them. "Let me guess, you want to sit here with me?"

Dust looked away with a small blush while Cross looked down at his feet with a small nod.

"B-but I see that you're busy so w-we'll just go." Cross said.

"Y-yeah. We'll come back another time." Dust agreed.

"Wait." Nightmare stopped them before they could leave. All four of them watched as Nightmare put down his pen with a sigh, mumbling something under his breath as he stood up from his seat. He then walked over to the bed and sat down, propped up by the pillows before looking at the others.

"Well?" the dark skeleton raised a brow at the others. "Aren't you coming?"

They stared at him looking shy and hesitant before coming up to him one by one. Horror and Killer sat beside him while Cross sat in front of Horror and Dust in Nightmare's lap. Nightmare let his tentacles come out and circled the others protectively, the black tendrils stroking them gently like they did with Horror and Killer from their skull to their spine. Nightmare stroked Dust's skull with his hands since he was the closest to him. They all laid their skulls on Nightmare as they relished in the comfort and safety he projected unconsciously. All four of them made noises of contentment while Nightmare turned his focus completely to his gang, his work now abandoned. 

"So," he started after a moment of silence. "what brought this on?"

All four of them tensed at the question before looking away and avoiding eye contact. Nightmare was patient as he comforted them, waiting for one of them to open up.

Finally Killer spoke first. "I-. I just had a bad day."

"How so?" Nightmare asked looking at the black teared skeleton.

"Just had a dream- a m-memory where-. Where I killed my AU. How I transformed. And how I was alone after that." Killer's voice got quieter the more he spoke and he shrunk into himself. Nightmare was quick to comfort him before he fell deeper into his depressed state. After the insanity had worn off, Killer had been ashamed of his actions. He had killed his friends and the human needed to get everyone back. He felt into a state of deep depression, blaming himself for everything, adding to the weight on his shoulders. He didn't have anyone to turn to anymore because he killed them all. He didn't have any support or love anymore. He had had Papyrus despite the taller not remembering the Resets but after that, nothing. Just him alone with his thoughts. He had hit it low. He hadn't gotten better with a knife overnight of course. He had practice. The scars on his arms proved it.

"I..." Dust began before trailing off. He looked down and bit his lip. "P-Papyrus, my Papyrus, came back and tried to get me to betray you. Then I followed Cross to an AU to cause trouble. I saw Doggo and freaked out, again." he whispered the last part under his breath looking ashamed. Nightmare hushed him softly. He knew Dust still had visions of his Papyrus' floating skull urging him to gain more Determination and LV. Dust- naturally- had went insane after killing Papyrus. It had to be expected that he would snap after the trauma. But no monster should gain too much Determination lest they wanted to end up like the Amalgamates. Nightmare had helped him get over that mentality since he had been so close to melting from all the Determination he had received. It had worked and he had stopped seeing the ghostly entity. But sometimes he still did see Papyrus return. It never failed to disturb him. The Doggo incident hadn't helped one bit.

"I brought Dust to an AU to help him. I didn't think about Doggo being there to attack us." Cross said shamefully. Cross had always been insecure after losing his AU to the X-Event created by his Gaster. The event had wiped out his entire AU, leaving him alone with nothing but the clothes on his back and vague memories of the life he had once had. Being alone in a white void with no one to turn to had shaved off his confidence and self worth. With no one to talk to and not knowing any positive reactions since his Au had been eradicated had taken a toll on his psyche. Nightmare had found him in X-Tale lost, confused and scared. His negative emotions were what had lead Nightmare to that AU in the first place. He had looked so broken and alone in the empty AU he had called home. Hell, he had clung onto Nightmare sobbing when the dark skeleton had offered to take him in. By that time, he had already taken in Killer, Horror and Dust. Cross was the final addition to his little group. He had hated Inky more for putting a young monster like Cross through such pain and loneliness. He hadn't gotten a chance to live his life before it had been taken from him.

Nightmare nodded with a hum and turned to Horror. "What about you Horror?"

Horror looked at Nightmare with surprise before looking away with a scoff. "Nothing. I just-. I just felt like staying here with you."

"You're lying." Nightmare said blankly, making the bloodied skeleton flinch. "What's the real reason?"

Horror gulped and looked away, crossing his arms. Sweat began gathering on his skull as vivid images flashed in his mind. He shook his skull to shake the images out of his mind. It didn't help at all and he began to shake.

"I-it's nothing. Really." he cursed himself for his voice cracking in the middle of his sentence. It didn't sound convincing now.

"Horror?" Nightmare asked with concern, staring at the shaking skeleton with worry. Red tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he crossed his arms tighter around himself. To Nightmare, it wasn't an act of arrogance or defiance. But to protect and ground himself. "Horror, what's wrong?"

Now everyone was staring at him with concern. Their eyes made something inside him snap and he shut his eyes tightly to prevent any tears from escaping. "I-it's nothing. Really. I just-. Had a s-stupid dream."

"Horror?" Cross asked looking at the other with worried eyes.

"It's nothing!" he choked out. "I just-! I had a stupid dream about eating all of you okay?!" he screamed suddenly putting everyone in shock.

The dam broke inside his mind and he sobbed, vivid images of his dreams playing in his mind. "I dreamt that I ate all of you. I was starving and- and there was nothing around. You- you all were just there and something took over me and I-!" he choked on his words. He covered his eyes with his hands as tears dripped down his cheeks and onto the sheets. Nightmare looked at him with concern and understanding before he gently circled his arms around the crying skeleton. No one protested.

Horror gasped and sobbed into Nightmare's shoulder as he clung onto his only source of comfort at the moment. "I-! I didn't mean to! Something took over me and the next thing I k-knew-! I-! I was chopping you all to pieces with my axe and I ate you! You were screaming and begging for me to stop but I couldn't control myself! I didn't-! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!!"

No one made a sound as Horror cried, sobbed and whimpered into Nightmare's shoulder as the latter comforted the former. They were too surprised but understood his distress. He came from a world where everyone is starving. Where monsters had begun to eat each other to survive. Despite being a Dark Sans, he was still a Sans. He still had emotions. He still cared. And it had been a constant worry for him to stoop so low as to eat the ones he cared about. It used to be only his brother but now it included his friends- Nightmare, Killer, Dust and Cross- as well. Now he wasn't starving anymore because he was with the gang but...they hadn't thought about his worry bleeding into his fear of eating them all due to desperation he had become so used to.

Everyone got their group wrong. They got it wrong with Nightmare. They got it wrong with Horror. They got it wrong with everyone.

Everyone has their reasons for their actions. Even them. None of them did anything without reason. Most of the time it was through desperation and despair.

Nightmare had eaten the apples because he was tired of all the hate and pain people kept giving him while his brother got all the love. He had done nothing to deserve it all yet he gets all the hate. Whenever something went wrong, he was the one who got blamed. Then and now. People think he's emotionless and cold yet time and time again he shows that that's not the case. Yet no one cares to see it or even tries to.

They got it wrong with Horror too. People think he loves eating other monsters but that couldn't be more wrong. Horror was forced to eat other monsters and even humans to survive because his world is on rations. His world is starving. He was just doing his best to keep himself and his brother alive. It wasn't pleasure that drove him to eat, it was desperation and starvation. He never liked eating other people. He never did. He had to do what he had to do. He's always afraid of eating people he cares about. At first it was only his brother but now it included his friends too. He is always afraid he'll be desperate enough to eat his friends one day. If Horror crying on Nightmare's shoulders about the dream isn't obvious enough.

Not only them but Killer too. Sure he did kill everyone in his AU but it was also through desperation that he ever did it in the first place. The constant Resets and genocide runs are what forced him to take action. It drove him insane and when it was all said and done, he was left alone. He was left alone in an empty AU with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. Yet where is Frisk- the person who started all this? Living happily with the other Sanses. Forgiven by the light Sanses. They never got their justice and lived on without consequences while Killer was faced with his everyday. He fell into despair and was scarred by his past while Frisk was left unscathed.

It's the same with Dust. He was a normal Sans once. But the constant Resets and genocide runs brought pain and suffering with no comfort in sight. He killed everyone through desperation that he would one day gain enough Determination to kill the human once and for all. He just wanted the pain to end. But while the human got away without justice, Dust was left alone and went mad. The constant pain and death took a harsh toll on his psyche. He literally went insane after killing the only person that he loved. Everyone forgave Frisk for their actions but never forgave Dust despite him being the victim to the point of insanity. Till now he is still haunted by his actions via his Papyrus phantom. The Doggo incident hadn't helped his already fragile mental state either.

Then there's Cross. Cross didn't even do anything bad to deserve all the hate he received. He was just one skeleton alone in a white void after his AU was eradicated. All he was left with were vague memories of his life before he was left alone. Alone without any comfort. Alone with his thoughts. He didn't have any friends. He didn't have anyone to talk to. He was left there in his empty au to rot. It didn't take long for his self worth to diminish. And with no one around to reassure him of his worth, he slowly defended into deep depression. His negative emotions are what brought Nightmare to his empty au. Nightmare didn't even make a deal with him. All he did was offer to take him in. Cross didn't even need to kill anyone to be with him. Nightmare only offered a place to call home and people to call friends- or family. Of course he agreed. He didn't even dust anyone, he just hung out with the others because he had nobody. Yet he was attacked the moment he was seen with Nightmare's group. He didn't do anything wrong yet he was hated instantly.

They are a part of the balance. Where there's light, there's darkness. Someone has to be the other half. That doesn't mean they had a choice in the matter or even liked what they did.

The Frisks and Charas from every au were forgiven and given a chance yet they had killed more times than all the gang combined. Uf Sans was given forgiven when he killed monsters to keep Papyrus safe in his au. SF Sans was given a second chance eventhough most of them abused their Papyrus.

It's not fair. It's not fair that they get all the hate while the others go about their lives without consequences. It wasn't fair for them to be the scapegoats. It wasn't fair for them to be hated for something not entirely their fault.

But in the end, it doesn't matter. As Nightmare pulled all of them closer to him and laid back on his bed, pulling all of them close. As Nightmare pulled up the covers over all of them once they're comfortable. As they all fell asleep in Nightmare's comforting embrace. It doesn't matter in the end.

The multiverse will hate them. The creator will loathe them. The others won't ever forgive or accept them. But it doesn't matter. Inky created their AUs. He created them through curiosity, claiming to love them as his children. Yet he hated them. It was the 'cold' and 'emotionless' skeleton who took them in while noone wants them. While everyone in every AU may hate them for no reason at all, it doesn't matter. What matters is that Nightmare loves them unconditionally. That's all that matters.


End file.
